When You Don't Get the Reward You Deserve
If you work hard on the job, especially if you produce good results, you expect a reward. Maybe it's a raise, or a bonus; maybe just a pat on the back. We think we deserve it. It's only natural.
It's really a matter of justice, isn't it? Besides, here in the U.S. we like the idea of a "meritocracy." Those get rewarded who deserve to be rewarded because of hard work and/or getting results. It starts in school and extends through our work life. In fact, a lot of us resent it when we see someone advance because of their connections, their family background, maybe because they're part of a certain ethnic group, whatever.
Of course, sometimes you don't get what you deserve. You work hard and...nothing. It happens.
But even if you believe you should get what you deserve - especially when you've proven yourself in some way - you can forget that there's a lot we all get that, frankly, we don't deserve. And it's important to remember because if you don't remember, you can easily get into a frame of mind where you just focus on what's owed to you - even if it's a perfectly logical, legitimate thought based on what a good job you've done.
If that's all you think about, you'll forget how much all of us get - that we don't deserve.
Psalm 8 talks a bit about us getting what we don't deserve. And it's not like you have to look very hard to figure out what that is. Starting in verse 4, it says:
I mean it's right there, isn't it. You get all that without lifting a finger. And it's not like it's coming to you either:
Good question, isn't it? How do I deserve all this? Not only did God make the world for us people, but He thinks about us all the time. He makes Himself present to us - in every place we are at any given moment
But there's even more. In case you forgot, God not only made the world for us, but he made everything in the world - everything - strictly for us.
Kind of covers just about everything around us, doesn't it? And that's not even mentioning the Holy Eucharist - our Blessed Lord's body, blood, soul and divinity - that we can receive just about any day (when there's a daily Mass available to you).
And the thing is, you didn't have to do a thing for it. In fact, you don't even deserve it. It's a free gift, a gift of infinite love from an infinitely loving Father.
So next time you maybe don't get some reward you really did deserve, don't waste your time being resentful. Just think about all this and about that infinitely loving Father you've got, OK?
It's really a matter of justice, isn't it? Besides, here in the U.S. we like the idea of a "meritocracy." Those get rewarded who deserve to be rewarded because of hard work and/or getting results. It starts in school and extends through our work life. In fact, a lot of us resent it when we see someone advance because of their connections, their family background, maybe because they're part of a certain ethnic group, whatever.
Of course, sometimes you don't get what you deserve. You work hard and...nothing. It happens.
But even if you believe you should get what you deserve - especially when you've proven yourself in some way - you can forget that there's a lot we all get that, frankly, we don't deserve. And it's important to remember because if you don't remember, you can easily get into a frame of mind where you just focus on what's owed to you - even if it's a perfectly logical, legitimate thought based on what a good job you've done.
If that's all you think about, you'll forget how much all of us get - that we don't deserve.
Psalm 8 talks a bit about us getting what we don't deserve. And it's not like you have to look very hard to figure out what that is. Starting in verse 4, it says:
For I will behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers:
the moon and the stars which thou hast founded.
I mean it's right there, isn't it. You get all that without lifting a finger. And it's not like it's coming to you either:
What is man that thou are mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?
Good question, isn't it? How do I deserve all this? Not only did God make the world for us people, but He thinks about us all the time. He makes Himself present to us - in every place we are at any given moment
But there's even more. In case you forgot, God not only made the world for us, but he made everything in the world - everything - strictly for us.
Thou hast made him a little less than the angels,
thou hast crowned him with glory and honour;
And hast set him over the works of they hands.
Thou has subjected all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen: moreover the beasts also of the fields.
The birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, that pass through the paths of the sea.
Kind of covers just about everything around us, doesn't it? And that's not even mentioning the Holy Eucharist - our Blessed Lord's body, blood, soul and divinity - that we can receive just about any day (when there's a daily Mass available to you).
And the thing is, you didn't have to do a thing for it. In fact, you don't even deserve it. It's a free gift, a gift of infinite love from an infinitely loving Father.
So next time you maybe don't get some reward you really did deserve, don't waste your time being resentful. Just think about all this and about that infinitely loving Father you've got, OK?
Comments